Digital Files And The Dangers That Lie Within | Houston, TX Photographer

Do your family's memories live on your phone or computer? How many of those photos have you actually printed out and have on display in your home? If you're anything like I used to be, you might be a little embarrassed to answer those questions. It's so easy to take the photos, or even hire someone else to take them for you, but life gets in the way sometimes and we forget to go back and get them in tangible form. Now you may say, "What's the harm in that?" Well, let's discuss it, shall we?

Technology Is Constantly Changing

Have you noticed that CD drives are beginning to disappear from the newer computers? How much longer until CD's are obsolete? If history proves anything, it won't be much longer until that happens. Don't believe me? Well, go ahead and put your floppy disk in your floppy disk drive then. ;) Time is a tricky thing, isn't it? Look at how different our lives were as children compared to the mountain of new challenges that we parents face today in raising our children. Technology/Social Media make up the bulk of that mountain. It's constantly evolving, moving onto the bigger (or in most cases, smaller) and better things. USB's won't be too far behind in this realm of becoming obsolete. It's so important to have physical copies of your photos to look back on one day! Have you ever had your phone or computer turn off and never turn back on again? This can happen at any moment (much like it happened to my husband's phone just this afternoon). Sometimes they're able to recover the data, and other times it's lost for good. There's such a sense of helplessness and frustration that rushes over you when that happens. We've become so dependent on these devices, and it almost feels like a betrayal when they leave us in the dark (literally). Yes, I understand that there are natural disasters that can destroy the printed out images, but I've definitely had more phones/computers give out on me than natural disasters destroying the things I cherish most.

Confidence Boosters

Studies have shown that children viewing images of themselves increases self-esteem and self-worth. I just recently learned this, and it makes my heart so happy to know that this is the effect that what I do can have on others. How special is that? Knowing that your child will feel even more loved by you than they already do when they see a photo of themselves on the walls or tables in your homes is so priceless! I love it when my daughter and son point at a photo and say, "Look mommy, it's me!!" Well, my son says "Mommy!! Daddy!! Sissy!! Carter!!" but if he was able put sentences together, I'm sure he would say the former;). Just give him a year or two! I know you all love your children deeply, and I don't know about you, but if I can make my child feel even more special and loved, then I am willing to take the time to do something as simple as printing out a photo to achieve that emotional response!

Feeling Those Warm and Fuzzies Every Day!

Earlier this week, I was going through photos from 2+ years ago when my daughter was much smaller, and my son wasn't even born. What happened as soon as I saw those photos? You guessed it, I felt a sense of being in the room with her again as she waddled around and spoke her adorable baby talk! We so easily forget how small our children used to be, and exactly what they looked like. There's nothing that compares to being able to take a walk down memory lane with the photos in my hand, allowing me to stroke her cheek on the page and imagine exactly what it used to feel like.

If you haven't heard about them, check out Chatbooks (pictured here)! They allow you to print 60 photos into a small photo book straight from your phone, or favorite social media platform! I'm doing a lot of catching up to try and get all of my photos off of my phone, and into books that my kids and I can look through together! They're so fun, and they're only $8/book! They're so perfect for those every day moments that you capture of your children, family, friends and beloved pets! You can even put captions on the pages of each photo, and name each book. So far I've just had them put the default date on the pages for me, but maybe I'll get more detailed on my next order. No, I'm not an official endorser for this company, but I thought I would pass along this little piece of info just for you!

Why Should I Print Through Olive Shoot?

It breaks my heart when clients tell me that they have yet to print out their photos from last year's photo session together. I heard it so much that I decided it was imperative that I offer up my services to ensure that they not only get their prints, but that they get professional heirloom quality products that will last a lifetime and beyond. I have dedicated my time and resources into finding the professional lab who produces the most beautiful prints, canvases, and other print products to save you the time of having to do it yourself. Another added bonus is I will hand deliver your products to you as soon as they come in and I've inspected it to make sure everything is perfect! Going to CVS and Walgreens isn't always convenient, and you will likely be disappointed in the quality of what you see when you open that envelop. The saying "you get what you pay for" is just as true in the lab that you choose to use as it is in any other area in life.

"What does heirloom quality mean?" Great question! It means they're guaranteed to last for 100+ years with the proper care! You don't have to worry about them fading, and my computer is calibrated to the professional lab's printers, so you and I both can be confident that the colors and brightness you see in your prints will look exactly like how I hand edited them to be. I'm so excited to be offering my service to you, and to know that you will receive the best of the best when you receive your products!

Please do not let your memories sit on your hard drive and phone. Get them printed out for you and everyone else to enjoy, laugh and smile at, and reminisce over for years and generations to come!

How much would you love to have someone there to help preserve your special one-of-a-kind Christmas memories for your family, allowing you to not only be able to focus on the excitement with your family, but to also be in the photos all together? And I'm not just talking about the arm length, hope you can fit everyone and the tree in, "selfies". I'm talking about photos where you can wrap both arms around the ones you love, and truly be able to enjoy the moment.

Imagine you were just recently married. You had just settled into your beautiful new home, only to have it flooded just one year after you signed the papers. Imagine that you are a family of 6 with 4 children under the age of 11, and you got word that you needed to evacuate and leave your home only to watch the flood waters infiltrate your home on your security cameras. Or perhaps your home was so overtaken by the flood that you weren't even able to get in and survey the damage for 2 weeks or more after the storm had passed. And now...

They were there for each other. There to hold the hand of the ones learning to climb the stairs, there to listen to the other when they had something to say, there to laugh when the other was being silly, and there to sit and rock the other when they needed a little quiet time. This is family.